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Joan Szymko

One from the Folder: Weekly Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choirs

October 19, 2018 by Shelbie L. Wahl-Fouts Leave a Comment

Week 31: Friday, October 19, 2018

“I Lift My Eyes” by Joan Szymko
Text: Psalm 121 & Thich Nhat Hanh
SSAA, piano

Our school motto at Hollins University is Levavi Oculos. This comes from Psalm 121:1 – “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills.” We are located in the beautiful Roanoke valley, in southwest Virginia, in the shadow of Tinker Mountain, so the imagery is quite apt. You can literally lift your eyes from campus and see the Blue Ridge mountains.

This also means that I am constantly on the look-out for good settings of that Psalm 121 text! School tradition had always been connected to Mendelssohn’s “Lift Thine Eyes,” but when I started in my current position, I wanted to pursue additional options. In my searching, I was introduced to Joan Szymko’s “I Lift My Eyes,” and my singers (and colleagues) have requested it ever since.

Szymko’s setting weaves together two distinct texts – the first verse of Psalm 121 and a quote by Vietnamese Bhuddist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. The psalm verse speaks of outside strength and support – seeking and receiving help from outside of yourself. By contrast, the Nhat Hanh text is focused on inner strength and self-realization. They pair so beautifully together – two sides of the same philosophical coin.

The choral selection opens with a solo (or unison choir) on the melody, outlining the psalm verse and its related melodic material. For my ensemble, this was a great place to learn via solfege, to unify their vowels, and to work on phrasing. There were also larger skips and intervals (5ths, 6ths) to contend with. For my rehearsals, everyone learned this opening material together, in unison. Once the singers felt comfortable, we were able to transfer the knowledge of phrasing and dynamics to later in the song, when this material reappeared with harmony.

After presenting the psalm text and its melody, the song switches gears to the other poetic material. “I am solid as a mountain; I am firm as the earth…I am free.” Here the setting breaks into SSAA, with small repeated motives used in all four voices. In contrast to the opening, these chant-like motivic entrances are brief, imitative, and overlapping, and utilize primarily stepwise motion. It is as if you can hear the mountain being built, one layered voice at a time. The imagery at this point has shifted from a person seeking outside guidance (Psalm) to a person who is shoring up their own inner strength (Nhat Hanh).

Szymko’s setting then returns to the lyrical opening Psalm material, this time in four-part harmony. There are some tasty dissonances and resolutions here, especially on chords where a 5th divisi pitch has been added. The tempo picks up a bit and there are a handful of key changes – great for practicing modulations with diatonic solfege. My singers greatly enjoyed the expressive energy at this point in the piece – it builds on the established material from the opening, while expanding it tonally and harmonically.

Next, Szymko overlays the text and melodic materials from both sections, with “I lift my eyes to the mountains” occurring at the same time as “I am solid as a mountain.” This musical and textual juxtaposition truly resonated with my students.

As part of a contemplative pedagogy project that semester, they were completing choir journals, with writing prompts I would give them as homework. One day for a prompt, I asked them to discuss how they personally felt solid or free in their own lives. Then the next day, I asked them where or to whom they turned to for help or strength, when they needed support or encouragement. Together, those two journal entries were some of the best that term.

The closing section of Szymko’s composition takes the beginning “I lift my eyes” motive, and treats it imitatively across a variety of voices. The cascading entrances go from bottom to top [A2 to A1 to S2 to S1], creating a lovely lifting gesture, and then start over again. This pattern builds to the end of the work, where “I lift my eyes” goes directly into “I am free” for the final chord.

Overall, rhythmic material is limited to quarter, eighth, half, dotted half, and tie. Tonal structure is primarily diatonic, in related keys. The accompaniment is engaging and supportive. For choirs working to connect sight-reading skills to real repertoire, this can be a great selection in which to put their skills into action and be successful.

I already have this selection on the program for an upcoming university event this spring, and I cannot wait to start rehearsing it with my students next term. For groups wanting accessible repertoire with beautiful musical settings, contemplative texts, and possibility for strong emotional connections, this work by Joan Szymko is absolutely a perfect choice.

Title: I Lift My Eyes
Composer: Joan Szymko
Date of Composition: 2006
Text Source:Psalm 121:1, and a quote by Thich Naht Hanh;
lyrics constructed by Joan Szymko
Subject(s), Genre:Wisdom, community, inner strength, purpose, self-determination
Language: English
Listed Voicing: SSAA
Voicing Details:SSAA with an occasional added note – total of 5 pitches at once
Ranges:S1: Bb3-Gb5
S2: Bb3-F5
A1: Bb3-F5
A2: Ab3-F5
Accompaniment: Piano
Duration: ~4:30
Tempo: 74, 80
Dedication: For Aurora Chorus
Publisher: Santa Barbara Music Publishing – SBMP 658
Further descriptions and details, including program notes, audio, perusal score, and purchasing:
https://sbmp.com/SR2.php?CatalogNumber=658
https://www.joanszymko.com/works/ind/i-lift-my-eyes

Until next week!
-Shelbie Wahl-Fouts


Dr. Shelbie Wahl-Fouts is associate professor of music, Director of Choral Activities, and music department chair at Hollins University, a women’s college in Roanoke, Virginia.
Email:
Bio:     https://www.hollins.edu/directory/shelbie-wahl-fouts/

For a listing of all current and past blog entries by this author, click here.
For a spreadsheet of all blog posts and their repertoire, click here.

Filed Under: One From the Folder, Treble Choirs, Women's Choirs Tagged With: Joan Szymko, Psalm 121, SSAA, Thich Nhat Hanh

One from the Folder: Weekly Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choirs

April 13, 2018 by Shelbie L. Wahl-Fouts Leave a Comment

Week 4: Friday, April 13, 2018

“She Who Makes Her Meaning Clear (Gamba Adisa)” by Joan Szymko
Text by Audre Lorde
SSAA div, hand percussion

Commissioned for the 25th anniversary of MUSE: Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir, this song celebrates the amazing power that is present when we recognize our fears, and dare to overcome them. [Over the years, MUSE has commissioned a multitude of exceptional new works for women’s/treble voices, often with a focus on social justice and activism. I encourage you to peruse their repertoire and commission list. This work is also part of a series by composer Joan Szymko called “Dare to Be Powerful: Bold Repertoire for Women’s Voices.”]

The primary text is from Audre Lorde, a self-described “black feminist lesbian mother poet.” Lorde wrote this excerpt in her Cancer Journals while undergoing treatment for breast cancer:

“When I dare to be powerful—to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

Additional text is the repetition of the name “Gamba Adisa,” which translates to “Warrior, She Who Makes Her Meaning Clear.” This was the name that Lorde took for herself near the end of her life, in an African naming ceremony.

The work itself is divided into two main sections:

  • a powerful, emotive opening and middle, with multiple vertical/harmonic divisi, and minimal rhythmic independence of voice parts; and
  • a faster, energetic, closing section, with ostinato layers (A2, A3), upper 3pt grouping (S1, S2, A1), and hand percussion.

This piece lends itself to groups of all sizes. The selection was a hit with my small-but-mighty advanced ensemble (12-14 voices, ~one-quarter music majors), and could be as few as one person per part. It has also been done with large honor choirs, including 2013 National Women’s Honor Choir, led by Sigrid Johnson. [However, because of the shifting divisi, programming it for a festival or combined choir that the conductor doesn’t see during the part-assignment phase will take clear pre-planning and communication.]

With minimal chromaticism, the piece is strongly tonal and consonant. The primary learning challenge lies in the initial “who sings which note” aspect of the divisi, and in the changing of meter from 4/4 to 5/4 to 3/2 to 3/4. The metric variations though are tied directly to the text, and flow easily when you look beyond counting the individual beats to seeing the larger phrases. Opportunities abound for a strong ensemble connection to shifting dynamics and tempo/rubato.

The closing section starts quietly, with A3 on an ostinato phrase. A2 joins next, along with hand percussion. S1/S2/A1 form a trio above the ostinato lines, sometimes entering together and sometimes in imitation. This ebbs and flows together for the remainder of the work. (When we learned the piece, this last section is where we initially started, with each section learning their layer individually in the first rehearsal, then coming together that same rehearsal to put the layers together.)

Joan has created a work that is both moving and reflective, and also driving and powerful. In the composer’s notes on her website, she writes that this piece is “Part invocation, part call to action, part celebration.” 

Title:She Who Makes Her Meaning Clear (Gamba Adisa)
Composer:Joan Szymko (www.joanszymko.com)
Date of Composition:2008
Text Source/Author:Audre Lorde (1934-1992)
Date of Text:1982
Subject(s):Courage, fear, warrior spirit, inner strength
Listed Voicing:SSAA w/ divisi
Voicing Details:1st section: Vertical harmony with minimal independence of voice lines – SSA, SSAA, SSAA div, SSA div + small group

2nd section: Multiple stacked lines – SSAAA

Ranges:S1: D4-Ab5 (tessitura: F4-F5)

A3: Eb3(opt. D3)-F4 (tessitura: F3-F4)

Need a solid low alto section

Accompaniment:1st section: a cappella

2nd section: hand percussion

Duration:~4m40s
Tempo:1st section: 70-86

2nd section: 100

Commissioning Ensemble:MUSE Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir, Catherine Roma, Artistic Director, to celebrate 25 years of musical excellence and social change
Series:Dare To Be Powerful: Bold Repertoire for Women’s Voices
Publisher:www.joanszymko.com
Further descriptions and details, including composer’s notes, audio, perusal score, and purchasing:

http://joanszymko.com/works/ind/she-who-makes-her-meaning-clear 

Until next week!
-Shelbie Wahl-Fouts


Dr. Shelbie Wahl-Fouts is associate professor of music, Director of Choral Activities, and music department chair at Hollins University, a women’s college in Roanoke, Virginia.
Email: Bio:     https://www.hollins.edu/directory/shelbie-wahl-fouts/

For a listing of all current and past blog entries by this author, click here.
For a spreadsheet of all blog posts and their repertoire, click here.

 

Filed Under: One From the Folder, Treble Choirs, Women's Choirs Tagged With: Audre Lorde, Joan Szymko, SSA, SSAA, treble choir, Women's Chorus

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